by Gill Pringle
When Disney director Don Hall chose the actors to voice three generations of explorers in new animated film Strange World, he had little idea as to what a perfect match he had found in Jake Gyllenhaal, cast as the odd man out who prefers farming to exploring.
“I grow mostly hemp and soybeans,” Gyllenhaal admits almost shyly. “And a few of my close friends are actual farmers.”
“I love adventures, too, so I have experience in both adventuring and farming,” adds Gyllenhaal, 41, whose film roles have certainly showcased the adventurer in him, be it Everest, Prince of Persia or Brokeback Mountain.
At its core, Strange World is a story about family, specifically three generations, each seeking their place in their world, named Avalonia.
Dennis Quaid voices the patriarch, Jaeger Clade, a tough and fearless man who puts adventure above everything.
Gyllenhaal’s Searcher Clade is a family man who – after discovering Pando, a plant-based power source that now fuels Avalonia – is content to farm his crop with his wife and son.
Meanwhile, Searcher’s boisterous 16-year-old son, Ethan – voiced by Jaboukie Young-White – is finding he may have more in common with his grandpa than with his own father.
These three generations of Clades have huge differences that can prove divisive, while at the same time, they have more in common than any of them is willing to admit.
“My dad is a farmer and I grew up helping out,” says Hall who previously directed Big Hero 6 and Winnie the Pooh in addition to co-directing Moana.
“But when I was 14 years old, it all changed. Suddenly, I was planting and doing more high-level stuff that I just didn’t want to do. It wasn’t me. It all turned out fine, but I always remembered that and thought it would be interesting to explore father/son relationships and the kind of expectations we put on our kids – intentionally or unintentionally.
“So, I did pick up a few things about farming before I decided to pursue this animation career. And, for this, we did meet with a few rooftop farmers for research,” adds Hall who co-wrote and co-directed Strange World with Qui Nguyen.
Marking Walt Disney Pictures’ 61st animated film, arguably no world created by the studio has ever been quite so wonderfully strange and vibrant as Strange World – set in a vast, hidden, subterranean world where bizarre creatures, looming danger and points unknown await.
Here, the Clades attempt to navigate an uncharted, treacherous land alongside a motley crew that includes a mischievous blue blob, a three-legged dog and a slew of ravenous creatures.
“This strange world is actually an allegory for planet Earth,” says Hall. “What started everything was just thinking about my sons and the world they’re going to inherit. How is it different from what I inherited from my dad? How can we be good ancestors to those who follow?”
These are themes that likewise occupy Gyllenhaal, who has long supported methods to fight climate change.
“What comes from the earth and what we eat is, to me, one of the most important things in my life. I really do love to cook and when I cook for myself, I like getting it from the ground,” says the actor who surprisingly admits that he’d rather pursue farming than adventuring.
“I dance in the movie, too. So that’s an adventure for the audience,” laughs Gyllenhaal who admits Strange World was perfect casting for him – even if it is only a voice role.
“Don and I talked about how the initial idea of the movie was really based on something that came from his own heart, and that drew me in. It wasn’t a story that came from the ether. It came directly from him and his personal experiences. That made me want to be involved because it felt very personal.
“And then, I got to bring my own family and my own experience in a different way. Particularly because it was an animation, my voice. My dad actually said he went to see a movie this weekend, and he heard my voice when he went to get popcorn, and then he walked in and saw my animated character, and it totally tripped him out,” says the actor whose father is director Stephen Gyllenhaal and big sister is Maggie Gyllenhaal, 45.
“I think all the characters were developed over time, and over the year+ we were working with them, the characters really started to take shape. And what makes working with them so wonderful is that they’re really open to bringing yourself. And little do you know, all the animators are starting to watch your face, watch your movement, watch your facial expressions. And the character slowly does become you, as you become it, in this odd, extraordinary transformation.
“I was bringing myself without even realising I was bringing myself,” laughs Gyllenhaal.
In partnering with Qui Nguyen to create Strange World, Hall says they both leaned into the idea of fathers and sons and how they don’t always see the world the same way.
“I am also a dad of two kids, and I felt like that was exactly what I wanted to be doing. This is a story I needed and wanted to tell,” says Nguyen.
“We could relate to Jaeger and Searcher when it comes to our kids. There’s a push and pull between ambition and just being a dad. It’s something almost every artist here at Disney – anyone who’s chasing a big dream – would understand. A big reason why we do it is for our kids, and we don’t want to lose focus of that.
“This is the story that I’m going through, the story that Don is going through and the story our characters are going through,” he says.
It should also be noted that Strange World isn’t just for the boys, featuring the voice talents of Gabrielle Union as Searcher’s wife Meridian, and also a fearless pilot, while Lucy Liu portrays Callisto Mal, Avalonia’s president and bold leader of the exploration into the strange world.
Strange World is in cinemas November 24, 2022
